Meditating on a Burning Lamp

A common meditative technique in the Kabbalah is to contemplate the flame of a burning lamp. Our soul is likened to the energy of the flame whereas our body is like the material candle or the oil being consumed by the flame. When we are born it is as if our body begins to be lit by our soul which continues to burn until our soul ascends to Heaven when we die. From Sefer Yetzirah:

"Ten Sefirot of Nothingness:
Their end is embedded in their beginning
and their beginning is embedded in their end
like a flame tied to a burning coal
For the Master is Singular, He has no second
and before One what do you count?"

In this picture a blue lamp contains fuel that is being drawn up its wick. The yellow letter Aleph א surrounding the wick represents how Air is needed to join the fuel with the flame and produce Light. In the red flame at the top of the picture, two angels can be seen. The one on the right has a blue rectangular head (hinting at the letter ם Mem - representing Chochmah); the one on the left has a red triangular head (hinting at the letter ש Shin - representing Binah). A yellow circular crown (Keter) unites both heads - hinting at the letter Aleph א (See my picture 'Primary Shapes').

The black part at the very top of the wick represents Moshe on Mount Sinai holding the Two Tables of Stone. Kabbalistically, Moshe represents Daat, which is what Tiferet becomes when it is fully mature.

The upper Yod of the yellow Aleph and the upper left part of the Wow of the Aleph represent Chesed and Gevurah (also Moses’s two arms). Inside the wick lungs and a heart can be seen, associated with Tiferet. The lower Yod of the Aleph and the lower right part of its Wow represent Netzach and Hod.

In the lower part of the wick an altar sits upon a large liver. The figure of a Tzadik being sacrificed - drawn up the wick to merge with the flame of the soul can be seen here. This represents Yesod, the lowest of the six Sefirot that comprise Tiferet (Zeir Anpin). Finally, the liver on the bottom of the blue lamp represents Malchut and the Lower Soul (Nefesh) which is often associated with the liver. Everything is surrounded by a wooden ladder that sits on the ground and leads up to the Infinite One.